Archaeology | Gherkins & Tomatoes

Using Cookbooks in Historical Archaeological Research: New Mexico as a Case Study

December 17, 2012 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Using cookbooks as a tool in historical archaeological research might sound a tad bit absurd, but by examining certain characteristics of these books, it becomes possible to see dirt-covered artifacts in a slightly different light. As a tribute to my childhood friend, Meli-Duran Kirkpatrick, and at the request of her husband, archaeologist Dr. David Kirkpatrick, I wrote an article DAILY LIFE THROUGH COOKING AND COOKBOOKS: A BRIEF GUIDE TO USING COOKBOOKS AS A TOOL IN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY about the feasibility […]

Categories: American Cooking, Archaeology, Cookbooks, Cooking, Food writing, Spain, Spanish Cooking • Tags: Archaeology, Cookbooks, Culinary History, New Mexico, Research methodology, Spanish Cooking

No Thanks to Marco Polo: An Encyclopedia of Italy’s Pasta Shapes

November 6, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Marco Polo returned to Italy from his Chinese travels in 1296. The myth, legend, what have you, credits him with introducing pasta into Italy’s culinary repertoire. But Marco Polo did NOT bring pasta to Italy. And 73-year-old Italian author Oretta Zanini de Vita wants you to know that, immediately, upfront and center. Zanini de Vita says, Dried pasta, the kind made with durum wheat, is found in Italy from about A.D. 800. It was in fact the Muslim occupiers of […]

Categories: Archaeology, Book Reviews, China, Italian Cooking, Italy, Local foods, Pasta, Reference • Tags: Archaeology, China, Encyclopedia of Pasta, Italian Cooking, Italy, Marco Polo, Oretta Zanini de Vita, Pasta

The Archaeology of the Pomegranate

November 4, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Our sense of the ancientness of the pomegranate comes not just from words, but also from the earth. Words do provide clues to the incredible journey of the pomegranate, such as this little ditty inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphics — said to be translated by Ezra Pound and Noel Stock, from an Italian rendition by Boris de Rachewiltz, based on papyrus and pottery preserved from 1567 – 1085 BC. The Pomegranate speaks: My leaves are like your teeth My fruit like […]

Categories: Agriculture, Archaeology, Art, Methods, Middle East • Tags: Ann Sutter, Archaeology, Cheryl Ward, Pomegranates

Honey, a Taste Sweeter Than Wine

September 28, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE BEE. Like trains of cars on tracks of plush I hear the level bee: A jar across the flowers goes, Their velvet masonry Withstands until the sweet assault Their chivalry consumes, While he, victorious, tilts away To vanquish other blooms. His feet are shod with gauze, His helmet is of gold; His breast, a single onyx With chrysoprase, inlaid. His labor is a chant, His idleness a tune; Oh, for a bee’s experience Of clovers and of noon! ~~ […]

Categories: Africa, Archaeology, Art, Spain • Tags: Archaeology, Bees, Bicorp, Emily Dickinson, Honey Bees, Spain, Zimbabwe

Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition

September 19, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition (Medieval History and Archaeology), by C. M. Woolgar, Dale Serjeantson, and Tony Waldron (paperback, 2009) In the unending quest to find models for culinary historiography, here’s another fairly up-to-date addition to the growing list: This book draws on the latest research across different disciplines to present the most up-to-date picture of English diet from the early Saxon period up to c.1540. It draws on a wide range of sources, from the historical records […]

Categories: Agriculture, Archaeology, England, English Cooking, Local foods, Middle Ages • Tags: Archaeology, C. M. Woolgar, Dale Serjeantson, England, English cookery, Food History, Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition, Middle Ages, Tony Waldron

Photo Credit: Hong Shang / Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing

Fish in the Diets of Early Modern Humans in China 40,000 Years Ago — Direct Evidence

July 18, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

According to Science Daily, Freshwater fish are an important part of the diet of many peoples around the world, but it has been unclear when fish became an important part of the year-round diet for early humans. A new study by an international team of researchers, including Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, shows it may have happened in China as far back as 40,000 years ago.

Categories: Archaeology, China, Evolution, Fish • Tags: Archaeology, China, Early Humans, Fish

Bioarchaeology and Paleopathology in Culinary History

July 7, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

(I’m dedicating this post to my mother, Barbara A. Purdy, a great archaeologist, whose passion for “old stuff” rubbed off on me, I guess.) A brief foray into the world of Sicilian mummies proved once more that food writers can learn a lot from silent “interviewees.” The trick lies, of course, in understanding unspoken language and signs. Two interesting resources providing guidelines for this understanding include the following: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology, by Arthur C. Aufderheide and Conrado […]

Categories: Archaeology, Mummies • Tags: Archaeology, Human Paleopathology, Mummies, The Archaeology of Disease

Idylls of Cuisine #16

June 7, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

[A picture, and nothing else, for silent contemplation.]

Categories: Archaeology, Italian Cooking, Italy • Tags: Archaeology, Cooking, Italy, Pompeii

“Old” News — Chocolaholics of 1000 Years Ago

February 8, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Put the word “chocolate” in front of my eyes and my salivary glands start secreting. And, oh boy, when the real McCoy appears on a plate in front of me, watch out! Like that Chocolate Mousse Cake looking at you, kid. Even when the discussion involves people drinking chocolate over 1000 years ago, those old glands turn frisky. Recent research by Patricia L. Crown of the University of New Mexico and W. Jeffrey Hurst of the Hershey Center for Health […]

Categories: Chocolate, Recipes • Tags: Archaeology, Aztecs, Chocolate, Culinary History, Maya, Patricia L. Crown, Pueblo Bonito, Recipes, W. Jeffrey Hurst

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